Leave a Legacy

Kevin Spafford is Farm Journal’s succession planning expert for the Farm Journal Legacy Project.He hosts the nationally-televised ‘Leave a Legacy’ TV, facilitates an ongoing series of workshops for farm families across the U.S., and is the author of Legacy by Design: Succession Planning for Agribusiness Owners.

God Made a Farmer

Feb 11, 2013

From Legacy Moment (02/08/2013).Please join us for future issues,delivered via email each Friday.

"...when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does."

A person doesn't have to be a farmer to want to buy a Dodge after seeing Chrysler's Super Bowl ad. In my house there wasn't a dry eye, and the sentiments that followed were a heartfelt tribute to you, the American Farmer. For two minutes the world was allowed to peer into the soul of our ag community, to feel the sense of purpose and enjoy, even if only vicariously, the character of a farmer.

As I watched proudly and listened to Paul Harvey's closing comments, I knew he understood, even way back in 1978, the importance of succession. Today, more than ever, we need to be mindful of the necessity for planning, the challenges that might prevent us from taking action and the resources available for helping to achieve our legacy dreams. "Doing what dad does" is a lot more than the closing line in a well-written editorial.

Farmers lead with traits that include independence and self-reliance, resilience and dedication, industry and passion. American farmers are professionals dedicated to providing healthy food choices for all. If you believe as I do, that once these qualities are gone, we're never going to get them back, then we shoulder a huge obligation to lead by preparing the next generation.

What better way to celebrate your heritage and punctuate your life than making sure there is a next generation of American Farmers? We hope you pass it on...

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Anonymous2/12/2013 04:09 AM

In the Beginning, Yah'weh(usually rendered "GOD") told the man, "Be Fruitful, Multiply and Fill the Earth...". This command had to do with much more than Adam's progeny. Yah'weh "planted a Garden in Eden", commanding the man to care for it and it's inhabitants...yes, that first, still perfect man WAS, indeed a Farmer, at his Creator's command. It's not only time to appreciate the men and women who carry on this Divine Mandate, but those who stand for it's integrity. America should well honor it's Legacy of the Family Farm, as it was such as these that founded our Republic by the sweat of their brows, their strength and their blood.